With a new Congress and a bipartisan process underway, the government’s spending decisions should cease to be a de-facto blank check to the Trump administration. Funding levels should be based on the needs of the country overall and on the facts on the ground along the U.S. border—not on the president’s immigration lies. This column establishes what the ground rules should be for the negotiations beginning today and how this process can lead to a spending package that makes real improvements without sacrificing immigrant communities or humanitarian protections—all without blowing through established budget caps.

Setting the terms for the debate

First, Congress should assert its power of the purse. Throughout the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have used budgetary tricks and deception to undermine Congress’ will and assert nearly unfettered authority to transfer or reprogram funds between accounts in order to grow the already bloated immigrant detention system.

The conference committee should put an end to this practice. The final bill the conference committee produces should include a prohibition on the ability of DHS and its components to transfer funds between accounts in order to spend more than the amount appropriated for detention as well as other enforcement activities, including the wall. Such a prohibition should include explicit language directing the DHS inspector general to monitor spending from the account and, on a monthly basis, report to Congress the names of any individuals in the government who attempt to illegally spend more than the amount appropriated for immigration enforcement. Because these actions would violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, and Congress will have made clear that such actions are illegal, the DHS inspector general should be directed to immediately refer such individuals to the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecution.

Congress must not cause further harm to immigrant communities

As the conferees are members of the House and Senate appropriations committees, they are quite familiar with the fact that, over the past 15 years, the United States has spent roughly $250 billion on immigration enforcement. Due to substantial investments over time, the Border Patrol now employs nearly 20,000 agents—nearly double the number from the early 2000s. Funding for detention beds has similarly skyrocketed. In total, the United States spends more on immigration enforcement than it does on FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Secret Service, and all other federal criminal law enforcement agencies combined. At the same time, apprehensions at the southern border—a proxy for overall undocumented immigration—remainatnear-40-year lows. This is the backdrop against which negotiations should take place and the final bill must not cause further harm to immigrant communities living in the country or people seeking protection at U.S. borders.

For starters, the fiscal year 2019 bill should contain no funding for additional detention beds and should reassert Congress’ prerogative to decrease detention capacity. This was Congress’ stated intention with the FY 2018 bill, which established detention funding levels that would “require ICE to reduce the number of detention beds.” Instead, ICE has since increased the average daily population by nearly 20 percent and, incredibly, added thousands of beds over the course of the shutdown. Detention funding should be decreased. Furthermore, the bill should contain no funds to increase the number of Border Patrol agents or ICE officers or weaken integrity requirements integral to the hiring process. Finally, the final bill should contain no funding to build an unpopular and unnecessary wall.

Smart, evidence-based border investments

So, what would real, durable improvements at our border look like?

Immigration judges: There is bipartisan agreement that the current backlog of immigration cases—with more than 800,000 cases pending and average wait times of more than 700 days—is untenable. One way to speed up the current system and ensure that those seeking protection find a resolution to their cases (rather than being stuck in limbo) is to increase funding to hire more immigration judge teams.

Medical care for kids: In December, two children died in Border Patrol custody, likely as a result of inadequate access to necessary medical care. Congress should mandate appropriate health screenings and medical care in CBP custody and appropriate funds so that child welfare professionals and trained medical personnel may be available in a timely manner at POEs and Border Patrol stations. These appropriations should be made without exceeding budgetary caps and growing DHS’s already mammoth budget.

Finally, news broke on Friday that the administration is implementing its illegal “Migrant Protection Protocols”—otherwise known as “Remain in Mexico”—to keep asylum seekers in unsafe conditions in Mexico throughout the pendency of their hearings. Congress should mandate that no funds may be used to implement this plan.

Conclusion

Even as the House and Senate conferees debate DHS funding, hundreds of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients remain in limbo. Dreamers and TPS holders must not be used as hostages in any negotiation, as the administration has attempted to do again and again. Nevertheless, conferees should keep in mind that these individuals have been waiting far too long to be put on a pathway to permanent status and citizenship. Legislation that contains real border improvements and regularizes the status of Dreamers and TPS holders—though not at the cost of codifying the administration’s anti-immigrant policies—would be a major win for the nation.

Tom Jawetz is vice president for Immigration Policy, Lia Parada is director for Government Affairs, and Philip E. Wolgin is managing director for Immigration Policy. The authors thank Sam Berger for his help.